November 18, 2009 was such day that I cannot forget in as much as I am alive. It was the day of mighty crumble of one of the channels through which I appear on earth. I cannot pen down the nostalgic recollection of the immutable agony of an irretrievable loss of a 65 year old father. It was painful, indeed.
Today it is eight (now 13) years of his physical departure from us to attend a transcendental life of eternal tranquility.
May the paradise be his final abode, amin. In addition to being a father in the true sense of the word, my memory is ever green with precious lessons of profundity and tremendous vitality I saw in him.
The reminiscence of legacies he bequeathed us depicted in encomiums and elegy said on him give us respite that he led an exemplary life. I have selected 10 (perhaps not most striking) traits I daily remember of him.
- Asceticism (Zuhud): He was among the richest men of the town in his time. The young of that day called him Baban Naira. He was never carried away by affluence or dazzling displays of his contemporaries. He was very careful of the source of anything he and his family consumed. He always talked about death and the Day of Judgment. He kept on saying that he was not in need of any worldly certificate, degree, honor or award. “I only need a certificate that will guarantee me entry to paradise”, he said. He declined a traditional title about to be conferred on him.
When he built the only house he left, he ensured that it does not have only a garden of blossoming tress but also included a cemetery inside. He maintained the upkeep of the place. One of my elder sisters told me that one day he entered the cemetery with them. Standing in the middle of the cemetery he told them “a part of my family will be here (showing with the right side) and a part of my family will be there (showing the other side) and I will be in the middle”. Allahu Akbar! Such was the premonition and thus it was accomplished. Exactly, he was in the middle of the cemetery as some family members who died before him were laid to rest there.
- Benevolence/magnanimity and generosity: He was never stingy. He was never greedy. He gave out without fear of want. He never had a second thought while rendering help. He helped many to get themselves self-reliant regardless of any discrimination. He planted trees; built houses for others, dug wells, sponsored people for western education both at home and abroad. I am sure the people of the town in those days were neither materialistic nor too much demanding like now. Some of them said they felt shy to approach him with demands, because he used to give them more than what they asked from him. He once confided in me that he could not feel comfortable to deny when demanded by someone.
- Humility: One of the things I admire of him was his humility and humbleness. He would not mind shaking hands with kids or people considered of low status. He wore descent clothes with no inclination to materialism, at all. He was ever ready to listen to anyone. He would not mind driving, riding a motorbike or even walking as pedestrian. He was never gorgeous in dress, neither elegant in working nor verbose in speech. He sincerely offered advice to people on what he felt beneficial to them. It was never a demeaning or degrading for him to visit the District Head (who according to lineage is considered a son) when invited to offer advice to him.
- Crave for Knowledge: It never surprised me when he quoted books we considered of a people of yore. One of his popular quote “alaikum bil atiq, wa iyyakum bil muhdasaat” was a reinforcing one. I was quite mesmerized when I heard him reaffirming his stand by quoting contemporary and modern scholars like Sheikh Abubakar Aljaza’iri when answering a question on janazat. He was actually influenced by the book “Talimul muta’alim…” which appears to be his favorite book. It is one of the books he thought to his household during his weekend teaching session. Most of us were made to memorize a considerable portion of the poems in the book through his constant quotes therein.
He was ever ready to acquire knowledge and accept superior opinions. I can vividly recall how he accepted to change his position about the popular Maliki school of thought stance on a person who breaks his fasting mistakenly.
After referring to the “old” books in his study, he got the ruling in the books he studied and taught. He announced in the house that anybody who mistakenly breaks his fast is not required to fast again. Let him keep his fast. It is an established fact and opinion of all the 3 schools of thought based on an authentic hadith reported by Abu Hurairah (R. A). He was never argumentative but ready to verify each claim.
(To be continued, in sha Allah).
